Nintendo DS Best of E3 2004

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Nintendo's brand new handheld made quite an impression on us. Which game did we select as the best?

By IGN Staff

Nintendo made a huge splash at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo with its brand new Nintendo DS platform. The company wasn't ready to announce price, release date, system capabilities or even a line-up of launch software at the show. But the company was, however, ready to show just what the system can do in physical form.

In case you missed the whole deal, the Nintendo DS, still not "officially" named yet, is Nintendo's third tier system and second handheld platform that features a two-screen design with a touch-sensitive lower screen, wireless connectivity and GBA compatibility. All these features makes the device a unique system to develop games on, and the company really showed off a whole pile of the Nintendo DS' features at this year's show.

It really isn't fair to judge the system's E3 line-up and vote for the best this or best that, simply because almost everything on display for the Nintendo DS was simply technology demonstrations and, with the exception of a select few, will not pan out as fully realized game designs.

And even though there were many, many great software concepts for the system, we felt we had to choose one game that was the game to play for the Nintendo DS at this year's E3. And that is:

To be honest, the version of Metroid Prime: Hunters still needed a lot of work in its gameplay. And the verdict is still out on using the stylus as a "mouse" device for this first-person shooter. But as a system demonstration, Metroid Prime: Hunters did it all. It showed off the Nintendo DS' graphic capabilities with a detailed 3D engine running at a fast clip and a smooth framerate. It showed off the system's network capabilities with its multiplayer deathmatch design. And it showed off a new way of using a touch screen in videogames by having players look around by sliding the stylus around the environment and shooting by "tapping" the tip on the screen. There were plenty of great design ideas elsewhere in the DS arena, but Metroid Prime: Hunters brought it all together in the most complete package at the show. Hopefully the final product will flesh out the foundation.